Bay Farm Island Emergency Erosion Prevention Project

The Bay Farm Island Emergency Erosion Prevention Project aims to temporarily stabilize approximately 0.04 miles of eroded shoreline along the north shore of Bay Farm Island in Alameda, California, to protect the San Francisco Bay Trail from further degradation caused by winter storms. The trail, a ten-foot-wide paved path used by bikers and pedestrians, runs from the SR 61 bridge through Shoreline Park to the Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal and beyond. Emergency measures are needed to prevent destabilization of the pathway and ensure public safety during the 2025/2026 winter season and subsequent winters until a permanent shoreline levee is constructed as part of the broader Bay Farm Island Adaptation Project. The solution involves installing three segments of 24-inch-tall, 34-inch-wide Super Tiger Dams, totaling about 200 linear feet, filled with water from San Leandro Bay and secured with earthen anchors according to manufacturer guidelines. These temporary dams will be installed annually at the start of each winter storm season beginning in 2025 and removed at the end of each season for cleaning, maintenance, and off-site storage, to be reinstalled the following year. The project is designed as a short-term, seasonal intervention to mitigate ongoing erosion while long-term solutions are developed and permitted. The initiative is overseen by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, Region 2 - San Francisco Bay, Oakland, with Nathaniel Goetz, Water Resource Control Engineer, serving as the primary point of contact for coordination and compliance. The work is limited to the specified reach of the trail and strictly adheres to seasonal timing to minimize environmental disruption while prioritizing infrastructure integrity and public safety.